Erin go Bragh!

OK... I'm not, but on St. Patrick's Day, it is said, everyone is Irish (or wishes they were)! I wasn't born Irish, but we were one of the few Italian families in a predominantly Irish neighborhood here in Boston. My friends Kathleen, Maureen, Colleen and company "adopted" me, and since they didn't take ballet lessons, but did take Irish Step Dance, I did too.

From Mrs. H. I learned to bake Irish soda bread (must be slathered with golden Irish butter before eating), and from Mrs. O I learned to make a “proper” corned beef dinner. I knew all the words to “Wild Colonial Boy” and “When Irish Eyes Are Smilin’” way before I knew the words to “O Sole Mio.”

Children live what they know and I have always felt a particular affection for the day and the wearing of the green. This coming Thursday is St. Patrick's Day and we'll join in the celebrations with the "airing of the green." In addition to the classical music that always brightens your mornings, I’ll be playing music about Ireland, or by Irish composers, or performed by Irish performers.

Listen for Charles Villiers Stanford's Irish Rhapsody No. 5, pianist John O'Conor, flutist James Galway, even some cuts from The Boston Pops Orchestra's "Celtic Album," to name a few.